Popular tourist spot will be cut off to visitors during car ban

3:19pm Wednesday 13th February 2013 in News By James Cox

Popular tourist spot will be cut off to visitors during car ban Popular tourist spot will be cut off to visitors during car ban

A POPULAR tourist spot will be blocked off during the car ban trial.

Cowdray Crescent, on the High Street, is often used as a drop off point for tourist buses.

But under the scheme, starting March 17, collapsible bollards will be put up to prevent access to anyone except emergency vehicles.

The spot  houses the 28ft grade II monument dating from World War One which remembers fallen soldiers from both world wars and terrorist attacks.

A Colchester Council spokesman said: “There will be a new coach drop off point on East Hill where the old bus stop used to be.”

Comments(33)

Boris says...
3:28pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Anywhere in Britain, your coach drops you off at the bus station, and picks you up from there too. Except for Colchester, which has not got a bus station, and that is why CBC are making coaches stop on East Hill.
Just admit it, CBC, your experiment has failed, so let's get back to the old bus station till you can produce a suitable replacement for it.

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wearebeingwatched says...
4:12pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Broken record Boris!

These coaches did not use the bus station, they used the crescent in front of the castle and have done for years, long before the VAF come along and replaced the oversized bus station.

The issue if there is one, is that when the High Street closure happens the coaches will not be able to use the crescent. Not an issue as long as the replacement stop is suitable.

For the record I am bus user, I am an advocate of using buses, I have not seen any issues since the old bus station closed down and certainly not the armageddon some on here like you predicted.

A town does not need a bus station for buses to run correctly,all it needs well planned out interchanges in strategic places i.e. Head Street, High Street, John Street etc. And for coaches and the like clearly marked out and signed drop off points close to the town centre.

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Bert_Stimpson says...
4:13pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Boris: CBC admitting failure is never an option.

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies."

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Reginald47 says...
4:19pm Wed 13 Feb 13

I read the Castle was shut for some time for refurbishment so what the hell does it matter whether coaches can park there or not. Our visitors are very lucky we didn't force them to experience that disgusting old bus park.

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roger bacon says...
4:22pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Not a good idea parking buses in strategic streets, unless you want to be like Clacton. All the buses stop in the main shopping road (Pier Avenue). So you go shopping there and breathe in all the diesel fumes from the buses . Lovely and healthy!!

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Longinus says...
5:56pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Initially the idea was not to allow coaches down the High Street after the closure (even though buses could go down). The drop off point was moved to outside The Minories (with coaches having to come up East Hill). Then, the council changed its mind and decided coaches could come down the High Street but not drop off at the Crescent. So the drop off point is still down by The Minories. However, what happens if a coach comes down the High Street? Where can they turn to achieve the desired direction to drop off at The Minories?

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jeffbridges says...
8:18pm Wed 13 Feb 13

roger bacon wrote:
Not a good idea parking buses in strategic streets, unless you want to be like Clacton. All the buses stop in the main shopping road (Pier Avenue). So you go shopping there and breathe in all the diesel fumes from the buses . Lovely and healthy!!
RB, you really dont understand buses do you.
most, but not all buses use main roads in any county that I know of,
with the exception of purpose built guided busways.
Colchester had a HUGE bus station that everyone wanted, but never kept.
Clacton has a through road for buses only with a few exceptions for other transport that all stop within the parameters of its bus stops, thus resulting in few emissions than any other packed transport link in Tendring.
Buses stop at bus stops, as do traffic at road juctions, traffic lights & other enforced traffic orders that do so Including the many pedestrian crossings.
All vehicles emit fumes with very few exceptions percentigewise.
Buses elsewhere in Clacton still emit exhaust fumes at the many hundreds of bus stops in the whole of Tendring.
Yesterday I was in town and only saw a maximum of just three buses at Idle, until the waiting pasengers alighted, then they left the stop to progress elsewhere, yet I saw many vehicles stopped at traffic lights and pedestrian crossings, all engines running while waiting to progress there journies.
The same buses stopped at each required stop on its further route all day long, as it done the day before, as it will do tomorrow.
Long live the bus service in my town.

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Taj says...
8:37pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Boris wrote:
Anywhere in Britain, your coach drops you off at the bus station, and picks you up from there too. Except for Colchester, which has not got a bus station, and that is why CBC are making coaches stop on East Hill. Just admit it, CBC, your experiment has failed, so let's get back to the old bus station till you can produce a suitable replacement for it.
Well said Boris

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Boris says...
10:44pm Wed 13 Feb 13

Taj wrote:
Boris wrote:
Anywhere in Britain, your coach drops you off at the bus station, and picks you up from there too. Except for Colchester, which has not got a bus station, and that is why CBC are making coaches stop on East Hill. Just admit it, CBC, your experiment has failed, so let's get back to the old bus station till you can produce a suitable replacement for it.
Well said Boris
Thanks Taj, good to see someone else on here with a bit of common sense.

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Boris says...
10:55pm Wed 13 Feb 13

wearebeingwatched wrote:
Broken record Boris!

These coaches did not use the bus station, they used the crescent in front of the castle and have done for years, long before the VAF come along and replaced the oversized bus station.

The issue if there is one, is that when the High Street closure happens the coaches will not be able to use the crescent. Not an issue as long as the replacement stop is suitable.

For the record I am bus user, I am an advocate of using buses, I have not seen any issues since the old bus station closed down and certainly not the armageddon some on here like you predicted.

A town does not need a bus station for buses to run correctly,all it needs well planned out interchanges in strategic places i.e. Head Street, High Street, John Street etc. And for coaches and the like clearly marked out and signed drop off points close to the town centre.
You have a short memory. Until 2007, all visiting coaches arrived at the bus station, and laid over there till it was time for their passengers to board for the journey home. Then, as you say, and only then, the VAF came along, and the bus station was cut down to less than half the size, and only then did they have to start using Cowdray Crescent.

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Red Tape 2 says...
9:29am Thu 14 Feb 13

What exactly is the aim of this scheme apart from to be seen as more green - which the pollution caused by extra traffic jams will soon negate? If the road is still open to buses, taxis, motorbikes etc what is going to be the benefit? You don't see many cars going via the High Street anyway and those that do only take that route because they have no choice - I certainly wouldn't go via the High Street if I could avoid it. It seems utterly barmy and will make like even harder for traders who are already struggling. Plus I understand there will be no disabled access either. In a word it's total bonkers!

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Checkout says...
10:04am Thu 14 Feb 13

I think we have to accept that the old bus station has gone forever and will not return to it's old location. However, there might be another solution I haven't heard mentioned, what about a new bus station in Priory street. Adjustments would have to be made to accommodate turning coaches and buses at both East Hill and Queen Street but this is not an insurmountable problem.
A bit of lateral thinking is required here and a bit less of the I told you so. Let's not moan about the reduction of car parking spaces either, there are good bus services into the town centre and the (long awaited) park and ride should encourage rural traffic and visitors.

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Ritchie_Hicks says...
11:13am Thu 14 Feb 13

"Cut off"? Hardly. Apparently the High Street is going to be silent of traffic due to this scheme so they can just park in the many spaces available which have been left by cars.

Failing that, they can just park down the bottom of the Castle Park on Catchpool Road - the locals will love it.

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hughie-s says...
11:37am Thu 14 Feb 13

Where will the open top bus tour start from? Top of East Hill is a non starter as it relies a lot on passing trade.

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TheCaptain says...
11:44am Thu 14 Feb 13

The stop will be about 30 yards further along. What is the story even???

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jeffbridges says...
11:48am Thu 14 Feb 13

Just a thought here.
If most traffic is being banned from using town centre and its popular local places,
is this just a box ticking excorsize at CBC for onwards governmental departments,
and not for the benefit of its residents.

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TheCaptain says...
12:45pm Thu 14 Feb 13

I think it's to create a better setting for the war memorial and main park entrance. So no ugly buses and coaches parked outside.

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romantic says...
3:18pm Thu 14 Feb 13

Checkout wrote:
I think we have to accept that the old bus station has gone forever and will not return to it's old location. However, there might be another solution I haven't heard mentioned, what about a new bus station in Priory street. Adjustments would have to be made to accommodate turning coaches and buses at both East Hill and Queen Street but this is not an insurmountable problem.
A bit of lateral thinking is required here and a bit less of the I told you so. Let's not moan about the reduction of car parking spaces either, there are good bus services into the town centre and the (long awaited) park and ride should encourage rural traffic and visitors.
When you say "adjustments", you´d probably need to knock buildings down at each end to get buses in and out. It would also mean using up a fair old chunk of the car park, and affecting the residents along Priory Street.

Personally, I don´t see the problem with coaches dropping off on East Hill. So long as people know where and when to catch the bus back, it´s not changing their trip.

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fi-fi says...
5:59pm Thu 14 Feb 13

stop moaning and except that a lot of people would prefer to have a high st that they can walk down without the car drivers hurtling past. I think that the market should be given the high street on fridays and Saturdays, lets get back to being a proper town for shopping.
As for the disabled not being able to park on high st, they have head st, williams and Griffins car park as well as all the other car parks have disabled parking so they don't have to walk so far. Get used to it and stop moaning.

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Ritchie_Hicks says...
7:20pm Thu 14 Feb 13

fi-fi wrote:
stop moaning and except that a lot of people would prefer to have a high st that they can walk down without the car drivers hurtling past. I think that the market should be given the high street on fridays and Saturdays, lets get back to being a proper town for shopping.
As for the disabled not being able to park on high st, they have head st, williams and Griffins car park as well as all the other car parks have disabled parking so they don't have to walk so far. Get used to it and stop moaning.
It's a tad over the top to say that car drivers hurtle down the High Street - other than quiet Sunday afternoons the road is generally packed full of slow moving traffic. It's also a bit unfair to expect wheelchair users to use W&G carpark.

But I do agree that the old market would be good for the town.

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fi-fi says...
10:05pm Thu 14 Feb 13

ok I'll give in to hurtling but yes wheelchair uses can use w&g car park my brother does on his own and we also use it for my mother whom is also in a wheelchair, they have disabled parking on the top floor so they go straight through the passageway at the side of w&g. I am sorry but there is no reason for disabled parking in the high street.

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DShep says...
8:09am Fri 15 Feb 13

Just another crack pot idea by CBC to continue the destruction of Colchester.
Why will they not admit they have messed up this town and are driving people away in the process.

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Ritchie_Hicks says...
8:45am Fri 15 Feb 13

fi-fi wrote:
ok I'll give in to hurtling but yes wheelchair uses can use w&g car park my brother does on his own and we also use it for my mother whom is also in a wheelchair, they have disabled parking on the top floor so they go straight through the passageway at the side of w&g. I am sorry but there is no reason for disabled parking in the high street.
If the town is closed to a lot of traffic why not make it even easier for the disabled to park in the empty spaces?

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Checkout says...
12:52pm Fri 15 Feb 13

Yes romantic some buildings may need to be demolished to achieve safe access but so what? As far as the residents of Priory Street are concerned, why would a bus station mean more inconvenience than a large car park?
I'd give the whole area of the present car park over to a new full sized bus station.

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SilverW53 says...
1:03pm Fri 15 Feb 13

Regardless of whether Priory Street is considered for bus or coach parking or remain as a car park surely it would be logical to reverse the one-way flow. At present we have vehicles going up East Hill, down Queen Street and into Priory Street, only to exit back on those still queuing to get round. Reverse the flow, up East Hill, into Priory Street, exit Queen Street, no chasing your own tailback.

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roger bacon says...
4:52pm Fri 15 Feb 13

An easy solution would be what they have done in Rheims in France. They pedestrianised the whole of the main street after digging it up and putting 3 stories of car paks underneath it. Probably in the regon of 3000 cars parking spaces at a very cheap rate. As Rheims and Colchester are very same sizes and both very old , would this be a problem in Colchester. So you have solved your traffic flow and pedestrianisation in one go

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Ritchie_Hicks says...
5:07pm Fri 15 Feb 13

roger bacon wrote:
An easy solution would be what they have done in Rheims in France. They pedestrianised the whole of the main street after digging it up and putting 3 stories of car paks underneath it. Probably in the regon of 3000 cars parking spaces at a very cheap rate. As Rheims and Colchester are very same sizes and both very old , would this be a problem in Colchester. So you have solved your traffic flow and pedestrianisation in one go
Not only would that be abhorrently expensive, but it would also be impossible as the underneath of a large part of the town centre is already use for delivery access and servicing. Access to such areas can be seen next to Vineyard car park (just under Red Lion Walk) and next to the Lemon Tree, which services the underneath of Culver Square.

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25414nora says...
10:24pm Fri 15 Feb 13

fi-fi wrote:
stop moaning and except that a lot of people would prefer to have a high st that they can walk down without the car drivers hurtling past. I think that the market should be given the high street on fridays and Saturdays, lets get back to being a proper town for shopping.
As for the disabled not being able to park on high st, they have head st, williams and Griffins car park as well as all the other car parks have disabled parking so they don't have to walk so far. Get used to it and stop moaning.
When you say Williams and griffins car park, you are actually talking about ..NUNNS ROAD car park.

Quite significant really, because w&g..or Fenwicks to be exact, hold great sway (some would say) over Colchester borough councils thinking and planning.

Knowing they have a most convenient
car park on their doorstep, where shoppers will enter the High St directly through their displays and so become a captured market.

'Ofcourse' they will put their full weight behind the proposed high st closure.

Even if this is detremental to all the other shops, and creates a dead zone for other outlets and shoppers alike: Clever Eh ?

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Hamiltonandy says...
11:27pm Fri 15 Feb 13

At least on the Gazette forum people have a say.
.
If only there had been free and open discussion of the Colchester Council traffic schemes before it was imposed by this elected dictatorship so suddenly.
.
(Yes I know ECC actually implements it but ECC stated it was at the behest of Colchester Council).
.
How can they call it a "trial" when it will run for 18 months with no changes allowed after 6 months. Hopefully all the outraged public will ensure it all ends in total chaos and another humiliation for these incompetent bureaucrats.

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Jess Jephcott says...
10:11am Sat 16 Feb 13

What a ridiculous headline! Cut off to visitors! Designed presumably to stir up all those cowards that hide behind their pseudonyms and give them the opportunity to slag off our town even more. Get rid of the smelly buses and cars for good. No trials; just get on with it. But one valid comment I saw was that Colchester does indeed have an elected dictatorship. A 10% clique that sits and decides what is best for us, without having to consult any of the 90% of our other elected councillors. Tony Blair and his disgraced government gave us that. Why haven't we consigned the cabinet system to the dustbin where it belongs so that we can get a true concensus of elected councillor's opinions?

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wellnow says...
5:29pm Sat 16 Feb 13

Just one point jess, I agree about the hiding bit but I dont about the vicar it was his scotch villain that did the damage.as for the thread.who really cares.

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Boris says...
8:00pm Sun 17 Feb 13

Jess Jephcott wrote:
What a ridiculous headline! Cut off to visitors! Designed presumably to stir up all those cowards that hide behind their pseudonyms and give them the opportunity to slag off our town even more. Get rid of the smelly buses and cars for good. No trials; just get on with it. But one valid comment I saw was that Colchester does indeed have an elected dictatorship. A 10% clique that sits and decides what is best for us, without having to consult any of the 90% of our other elected councillors. Tony Blair and his disgraced government gave us that. Why haven't we consigned the cabinet system to the dustbin where it belongs so that we can get a true concensus of elected councillor's opinions?
You should address those comments to your elected ward councillors, one of whom is Mayor at the moment, and the other is a former Mayor.
And even if there weren't thje cabinet system, councillors would still vote as directed by their party leaders, so you would be no better off.
Councillors will never reach a consensus, because they belong to different parties.

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Jess Jephcott says...
2:45pm Tue 19 Feb 13

I see no place for national politics at a local level. But I get your point Boris. Most of the people that do vote would vote for a donkey if it had the right coloured rosette. So, by that token, we get ruled by a bunch of yes men, incapable of individual thought. It's a funny old world innit?

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